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John Davis Collection

 Collection
Identifier: PUNK002

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of materials from aspects of John Davis’s career in the punk, and indie rock scene in Washington, D.C., in the 1990s and 2000s. The majority of items were created by Davis, are about him, or are about bands he was involved with; the remainder are directly connected to the broader punk scene.

Dates

  • Creation: 1991 - 2015

Creator

Language of Materials

English

Conditions Governing Access

This collection does not have any restrictions.

Biographical / Historical

John Davis performed as drummer in the Washington, D.C.-based band Q and Not U, founded in 1998, with Harris Klahr, Chris Richards and Matt Borlik. They recorded and released music through 2005. Davis was a writer and editor for the music zines Held Like Sound, Confab, and Slanted during the same period. This collection also includes materials for other bands Davis was involved with; Corm, Neptune’s Daughter, Title Tracks, and Georgie James.

Extent

3 Boxes

Arrangement

The collection consists of the following series: Series I: Audio Recordings Series II: Ephemera Series III: Fliers Series IV: Photographs Series V: Posters Series VI: Press Clippings Series VII: Promotional Materials Series VIII: Zines

Series I: Audio Recordings This series consists of published audio recordings by Davis’s bands. These materials are separated by format, and arranged alphabetically by artist.

Subseries A: Compact Discs This subseries consists of CDs of Davis’s bands and others.

Subseries B: Cassettes This subseries consists of audio cassettes of punk bands with which Davis was not involved.

Series II: Ephemera This series consists of a Rites of Spring t-shirt.

Series III: Fliers This series consists of fliers promoting performances by DC-area punk bands, especially Davis’s bands. These materials are arranged alphabetically by venue; where no venue could be determined, they are identified by street address.

Series IV: Photographs This series consists of photographs of or by Davis, most of which are of one of Davis’s bands. These materials are arranged alphabetically by the band name.

Series V: Posters [oversized] This series consists of posters promoting concerts or CDs. These materials are separated by purpose and arranged alphabetically by artist.

Subseries A: Album Posters This subseries consists of posters promoting album releases, mostly but not exclusively of Davis’s bands.

Subseries B: Concert Posters This subseries consists of posters promoting concerts, most of or including one of Davis’s bands.

Series VI: Press Clippings This series consists of press clippings regarding Q and Not U, primarily covering the release of their album No Kill No Beep Beep and accompanying tours. Materials are arranged alphabetically by source.

Series VII: Promotional Materials This series consists of miscellaneous materials used to promote things other than concerts, including fliers promoting Q and Not U’s tour albums, and a Dischord catalogue. Materials are arranged alphabetically by source.

Series VIII: Zines This series consists of zines edited, contributed to, or collected by Davis. Zines edited by Davis in this collection are Held Like Sound, Slanted, and Confab. Materials are arranged alphabetically by zine title.

Custodial History

This collection was donated to the DC Public Library Special Collections department by John Davis.

Related Materials

John Davis collection on punk, Special Collections in Performing Arts, UMD Libraries Collection number: 0334-SCPA-DAVIS

Processing Information

The collection was processed at the folder level.

Title
John Davis
Subtitle
An inventory of John Davis at DC Public Library
Author
Anne Damtoft, 2019
Date
2017-10-04
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the The People's Archive, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library Repository

Contact:
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(202)727-1213